[Chapter 45 Comment]
[Twin_dragon1377: There's a traitor Among Us.]
…
"Alright, where is he?" Maya used binoculars to observe Theo's movements, waiting for him to enter the school. She had placed multiple cameras at the corners of the gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
"Oliver, how is your situation?" Maya asked through the call.
Oliver had positioned himself in the security room, keeping an eye out for Theo's arrival. However, as time passed, they grew more impatient. Theo was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh? Is Teacher Theo not coming to school today?" Maya frowned, unable to spot him on the camera feed.
"I'm not sure. I haven't found anything," Oliver contemplated. "Could it be that Teacher Theo has found another way into the school?"
"Wait a minute. Are you suggesting he's jumping over the wall?" Maya considered the possibility.
"Possible, isn't it?"
"..." Maya silently agreed with Oliver's speculation. She added, "I'll call the others to see if they've found any sign of him."
Maya reached out to the other students to check if they had located Theo's whereabouts. Unfortunately, Serena's group had no luck, and Luca and Lucas couldn't find any sign of him either. She didn't bother asking Avalon.
However, she was surprised by Aurora and Lancelot's response. They confidently stated that Theo was within the school. They had received cooperation from another student.
The student in question had short blue hair, round glasses, and an innocent face. He hailed from Lancelot's world and willingly assisted them due to his connection with Lancelot.
"Young Master Lancelot, what should I do now?" the student asked, seeking guidance.
"Keep searching," Lancelot replied with a serious expression.
The three of them circled the table, studying the school map placed on it. The student held a pendulum in his hand, defying gravity, with essence emanating from it. The ball attached to the pendulum floated just above the school's main building.
"I can only assist you to this extent, Young Master," the student expressed uncertainty about his performance.
Before responding, Lancelot exchanged glances with Aurora.
"I will go and find him. Let me know if there are any signs of movement," Haruka said, ready to apprehend Theo.
After seeing her off, Lancelot instructed the student, "Continue with your task. I need you to keep doing this for me. In return, I will help your parents' situation. If we manage to find him, I'll even reward you."
"I understand," the young man's face brightened. He was excited about the task at hand and committed to doing his best.
Unfortunately, as soon as Aurora left the room, the ball began to move.
"Young Master!" the student urgently alerted Lancelot.
Lancelot grabbed his Lumina and called Aurora, saying, "Be prepared. He is heading towards... the principal's room? Wait a minute. Has someone managed to gain the principal's cooperation?!"
This revelation was shocking, as the principal held a high position of authority and had connections to the king due to her background.
Indeed, there were people who had gained the principal's cooperation—Li Wei, Serena, and Jayden.
"Principal, I hope you're not upset with our request..." Serena offered a wry smile.
"Don't worry. As long as you handle it responsibly, I can support you," Victoria nodded. Memories of being dragged around by Theo resurfaced, causing a hint of grudge between them.
After Serena made a formal request and explained the situation, the principal agreed to cooperate as a way to repay Theo.
Victoria smirked. "He should be arriving soon..."
"I'll hide first," Serena scanned the room, searching for a suitable spot.
But Victoria pointed to the floor and said, "Just hide behind my table."
"Right!" Serena crouched down, anticipating Theo's arrival and the opening of the door.
Knock!
"This is Theo."
"Come in. I have an important matter to discuss regarding the next mission."
Theo opened the door promptly, wearing an innocent expression. Seeing only Victoria in the room, he entered and inquired, "So, what's the matter?"
"Actually, I'm here to inform you that the mission has been approved. However, due to the importance of collaboration, we have decided to introduce a new mission category—the Special Mission. Starting next year, the class will be required to undertake both a regular mission and a special mission."
"That sounds dangerous, doesn't it? Besides the regular mission, the special mission could be extremely perilous and impact the school's reputation. It might be better to utilize the special mission in a different way."
"That's true..." Victoria pondered for a moment. "I will try to propose your idea later. If possible, could you draft the details for it? I would like to hear your thoughts."
"Well, it's quite simple. Should I explain it now?" Theo asked.
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. You see..." Victoria smiled.
In that moment, Serena emerged from behind the table and exclaimed, "Hehehe! It's because of me! I've caught you, Teacher Theo!"
Theo's face turned pale as he looked at them in disbelief. "I never expected you to collaborate with the students, Miss Victoria."
"I'm sorry, Teacher Theo. Perhaps you should have clarified the terms in your little game. After all, the students are quite resourceful, and I couldn't reject their ideas," Victoria smiled.
"You..." Theo clenched his teeth, regretting his decision to enter the room.
"Hehe. With this, we've won," Serena smirked. Li Wei and Jayden emerged from their hiding places and blocked the exit, securing their victory.
"I'm sorry, Teacher, but this is the end," Li Wei calmly declared.
Serena approached Theo with a smirk, saying, "We've finally got you. But since this was a team effort, the three of us will compete to determine who gets the seat."
"Is that all, Miss Principal?" Theo narrowed his eyes.
Victoria couldn't help but shudder under his gaze. She had a feeling that something bad would happen soon as a result of this. She offered a wry smile, feigning fear. "Yes?"
"Is that so?" Theo sighed and flicked Serena's forehead.
"Ouch!" Serena instinctively covered her forehead, but she realized there was no pain from the flick. "Huh? I don't feel any pain?!"
"Huh?" Victoria, Li Wei, and Jayden were bewildered. The two students rushed into the room but collided with an invisible wall.
As the illusion was shattered, the door appeared—it had never been opened in the first place.
From this realization, they understood that they had fallen into Theo's illusion.
"You..." Serena gasped, staring at Theo's translucent form.
"It was a good attempt, but not enough," Theo smiled and patted her shoulder before vanishing.
Victoria's face turned pale. She wasn't upset about the students' failure, but rather scared because she, too, had been ensnared by his illusion.
She couldn't help but gulp, wondering what she would do if Theo decided to seriously manipulate her.
"I feel like I've gotten myself into a bigger mess than I could have imagined," Victoria admitted in defeat.
The only one who saw through the illusion was Aurora. Lancelot had guided her to believe that Theo might be heading towards the principal's room, but he never stopped there. And with how Theo had tricked Li Wei and Jayden, who had planned to ambush him from the outside, Aurora knew that Theo was actually on a different floor.
"Where is he now, Lancelot?" Aurora asked as they ran down the hallway.
"He's going... huh? Outside the building?" Lancelot was confused. The principal's office was on the top floor, while the gate was on the ground floor. Moreover, all the windows in that direction were sealed shut, meaning they couldn't be opened.
In other words, Theo's illusion extended at least fifteen meters above ground level.
Furthermore, the illusion was so flawless that it felt incredibly real, leading them to realize that Theo could replicate the entire school with his illusions, including the view from the outside.
"I've heard that Teacher's illusions could extend up to a fifty-meter radius, but Li Wei mentioned it was a circle... It seems that the range of Teacher's illusions is actually a sphere. We might have underestimated him. It's possible that his illusions have an even longer reach than we know," Aurora gritted her teeth.
While Aurora contemplated how to catch up to Theo, there was a group prepared to ambush him.
They were flying in the sky, each with two pairs of wings on their backs.
Yes, it was none other than the twins, Luca and Lucas. According to the Spirit World, they were classified as Fairy Spirits, symbolized by their short, pointed ears and two pairs of wings.
Luca and Lucas had one plan: to use the others to corner Theo and wait for him to attempt an escape. That would be the perfect moment to ambush him from above.
"Hehe, we've finally got him!" Luca and Lucas smiled as they landed in front of the gate, where they spotted Theo standing.
"We've found you, Teacher."
"Please surrender."
Theo turned around, looking at the twins with a smile. "While it's true that I appreciate how you utilize your classmates, I still believe you should trust them instead. If you continue to use them solely for your own convenience, you might end up losing them without realizing it."
"We do feel bad about it."
"We can apologize to them later."
"But..."
Both twins glared at Theo, awaiting his judgment.
However, Theo added one more thing. "Do you remember one of my rules?"
"Your rules? Which ones? There are only two, right?"
"No, I'm referring to the rules of point deductions," Theo smirked, pointing at his watch.
"Huh?" They hurriedly took out their Luminas and realized that class was about to start. As their gazes returned to Theo, they discovered that he had disappeared. It turned out the person they had caught was just an illusion meant to trap them.
"This is not good. He'll deduct our points!" Luca and Lucas panicked and rushed back to the classroom.
Meanwhile, the real Theo had arrived at the classroom. Opening the door, he planned to wait for the other students and deduct their points.
However, instead of finding Haruka or Mia, who hadn't participated in the mission, he was greeted with Avalon standing right behind the door.
"Teacher... I've got you," Avalon said with a serious expression.
"Hoh?" Theo smiled.
"I may not be as cunning as the others, but I knew you were bound to come to the classroom sooner or later. So, I just had to wait here and catch you a few seconds before the bell rang. And I won," Avalon stated confidently. His approach was straightforward, but it was something that many people had overlooked.
"Is that so? Unfortunately for you..." Theo grabbed Avalon's hand and raised it to chest level, pointing at his watch.
Suddenly, Aurora and Lancelot rushed in from behind, shouting, "Teacher, we apologize for being late!"
"Huh? Late?" Avalon was shocked and looked at his own watch. The conversation had taken one minute, but his watch showed that it was already two minutes past the bell.
"Are you sure the bell didn't ring? Or perhaps I didn't allow you to hear it?" Theo smirked as he entered the classroom. In the end, he smoothly thwarted all their plans. "Alright, let's start deducting points for those who arrived late."
As he said that, the other students rushed into the classroom, receiving point deductions for their tardiness.
They all hung their heads low, feeling tired and frustrated. They had been completely outplayed by Theo.
"Hahaha, it seems like everyone got some good exercise," Theo remarked, starting the class with a hint of provocation.